The present invention is directed to an electrically operated railroad switch machine including a switch stand and an electrically powered operating assembly, and in particular to a switch machine wherein the operating assembly is adapted to be connected to various different types of switch stands.
Railroad switch stands of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,054,543 and 2,575,037 are manually operated. Switch stands are adapted to be attached to a connecting rod which in turn is connected to first and second switch points of a railroad switch. The switch stand is adapted to move the connecting rod back and forth in a generally linear direction to thereby conjointly move the first and second switch points between a first position and a second position. The switch stands include a hand lever that is manually rotated through an angle of approximately 180xc2x0 in a first rotational direction to thereby correspondingly move the switch points from the first position to the second position. The switch points are returned to their original first position from the second position by manually rotating the hand lever in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction.
A switch machine for moving railroad switch points. The switch machine includes a switch stand having a rotatable hub that is operatively connected to a pivot shaft. The pivot shaft is adapted to be connected to the railroad switch points such that rotation of the hub results in the throwing of the railroad switch points between a first switch point position and a second switch point position. An operating apparatus is coupled to the hub of the switch stand for providing automatic operation of the switch stand. The operating apparatus includes a rotary actuator having a rotatable pinion connected to a rotatable shaft that are selectively rotatable between a first position and a second position. A coupling member is attached to the shaft of the rotary actuator for conjoint rotation with the pinion and the shaft. The coupling member is adapted to rotationally couple the pinion and the shaft to the hub of the switch stand. A hydraulic pump is in fluid communication with the rotary actuator for providing selective rotational movement of the pinion. A valve is in fluid communication between the hydraulic pump and the rotary actuator for selectively controlling the direction of rotation of the pinion and the shaft. The hydraulic pump is powered by an electric motor. A first proximity sensor is activated by the coupling member when the pinion and shaft are located in the first position and a second proximity sensor is activated by the coupling member when the pinion and shaft are located in the second position. When either the first or second proximity sensor is activated, the electric motor and hydraulic pump are deactivated. A timer is provided to deactivate the motor and hydraulic pump if neither of the first or second proximity sensors are activated within a predetermined time period.